Efficacy in myopia control—The impact of rebound

Abstract Purpose When myopia control treatment is discontinued, progression will increase, but does it revert to expected values based on the age and race of the child or does it accelerate further? The latter scenario is considered a rebound. Methods A PubMed search was conducted with the words ‘rebound’ and ‘myopia control’, identifying further papers from reviews. Inclusion was limited to prospective studies with ≥6 months of treatment, ≥3 months of data following cessation and with axial length data, which allowed calculation of rebound. Nineteen studies were identified, comprising 24 treatment groups. In 10 studies, untreated control children were followed both throughout the treatment and cessation periods, allowing for a concurrent comparison group. In three studies, a control group was followed for 1 or 2 years and thereafter received the treatment under evaluation. Later, treatment ceased in the originally treated children. Finally, six studies were cross‐over designs. For these latter two study designs, initial axial elongation and myopia progression in the control group were extrapolated to the cessation period, accounting for annual slowing. Values from durations of <1 year were annualised. Results The mean annualised rebound was +0.05 ± 0.10 mm and −0.09 ± 0.24 D for axial length and myopia progression, respectively, and these were correlated ( r 2 = 0.59, p < 0.001). Rebound was associated with 1‐year treatment efficacy ( r 2 = 0.43, p < 0.001). The mean annualised rebound with optical corrections was −0.01 ± 0.03 mm. Five of the six highest rebound values (≥0.14 mm) were from red light therapy and atropine studies. Rebound ranged from +0.03 to +0.14 mm for overnight orthokeratology. Conclusions Consistent with previous statements, no evidence for rebound was found for myopia control spectacles and soft contact lenses. Future research should explore the influence of age and magnitude of treatment efficacy on rebound.